original story from: BBC

A hotel in Abu Dhabi has asked the Guinness Book of World Records to verify that they do in fact have the most expensive Christmas Tree ever recorded. The 43 foot tree contains over $11 million worth of jewels, gold, and other valuables serving as its ornaments and resides in the main lobby of the hotel. The hope was that it would demonstrate the safety of the hotel as well as increase publicity. By all reports it has been successful on both accounts.

The contrast between Christmas decorations today and the cave of Bethlehem could not be greater.  Jesus still welcomes those who worship him, however impoverished or wealthy they might be.  He became one of us, that we might be one with him.

original story from: USA Today

Every year, children write letter to Santa telling him what they want for Christmas. Their letters typically talk about the desire for new toys, video games, or the latest electronics. However, some needs  are much more simple and much more basic. U.S. postal workers who handle letters to Santa say that this year they are seeing a lot more children asking for things like warm clothes, socks, and shoes instead of toys. In New York, the postal service conducts “Operation Santa,” listing needs for Secret Santas to meet.

In Matthew 6, Jesus tells us not to worry about our needs (vs. 28-33).  But earlier in the chapter, he charges us to help each other: “When you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing” (v. 3).  We are the body of Christ, his hands and feet today.  When we help those in need, we demonstrate God’s love in ours.  A man once complained to the Lord: “Why don’t you do more to help the hurting people in our world?”  God replied: “I was just about to ask you the same question.”

original story from: CNN

So far this year, airlines have received a combined $2.5 billion from of baggage fees, up 22.5% from this time last year. In an otherwise uncertain climate, fees such as these are the only way that many airlines are managing to stay in business. Along similar lines, so far this fiscal year, airlines have also accumulated roughly $1.7 billion in cancellation and change fees they have charged customers for adjusting their flights. While such numbers cause outrage among many, they are not likely to change any time soon as they are simply too profitable.

The sin in our lives can act in a similar way. We seldom realize the price we are paying for our mistakes.  The effects that we cannot see, the aspects of sin that hide in seemingly minor details, eventually result in staggering consequences. Never doubt that sin will always take you farther than you want to go, cost you more than you want to pay, and keep you longer than  you wanted to stay. Like baggage fees, the secret side of sin is not going away—it’s too profitable for the enemy.

original story from: Yahoo

William Hamman was a rare breed whose expertise was sought in the realms of both piloting and medicine. He taught countless numbers of conferences on both topics, offering guidance on how to deal with stressful situations and stay focused on the task at hand. He was well respected within both fields and widely admired. He seemed to have everything going for him… except actual degrees in the areas he was teaching. It turns out that while he does have a pilot’s license, he has no medical residency, fellowship, doctoral degree, or any of the 15 years of clinic experience he claimed to have. He has since lost any teaching positions he previously held and has left a number of companies embarrassed that it took so long to find out the truth.

Truth always wins.  Numbers 32:23 is still relevant: “Be sure your sin will find you out.”

original story from: USA Today

When’s the right time to start singing Christmas Carols in church? Is it after Thanksgiving when they start to dominate the radio? Is it on Christmas Eve when the anticipation of Christmas Day becomes the greatest? Or is it somewhere in between? It’s a question many churches are debating as they try to balance advent themes that don’t always mesh well with Christmas classics like “Silent Night” and “Joy to the World.”

However your church chooses to answer the question, we must not forget that the Christ of Christmas is also the Christ we serve every day.  He became one of us, that we might be one with him.

original story from: USA Today

The Metrodome, home of the Minnesota Vikings, was scheduled to host the New York Giants tonight.  The game was originally scheduled for Sunday afternoon but because of blizzards in the area had to be postponed. However, the roof of the Metrodome collapsed on Sunday making it necessary to move the game to Detroit.  The stadium’s roof is inflatable and made of canvas that was simply not strong enough to hold all the snow that fell so quickly.

If anyone should know how to build a stadium to withstand a significant snowfall, it would be architects in Minnesota.  We can build for the future, but no one can control outcomes.  Only God knows the future.  If we seek first his Kingdom, everything else will be added to us (Matthew 6:33).

original story from: CNN

Seth Petreikis is an Indiana infant who was recently denied a life-saving transplant surgery by Medicaid because the procedure needed was deemed to be experimental.  Seth was born with a condition called DiGeorge Syndrome, an immune deficiency disease which was very likely to have killed him if not repaired.  A thymus transplant surgery pioneered by Dr. M. Louise Market at Duke Hospital in North Carolina involves a new procedure which has been successful in 75% of the surgeries performed.  After repeated petitions and increased media coverage, the Indiana Medicaid office has decided to approve payment for Seth’s surgery, determining that it is a rare circumstance that needed to be addressed.

Jesus is still the Great Physician.  He takes the initiative to heal out of compassion for our needs.  He knows your problems before you do and wants to help (cf. Matthew 6:8).  Where do you need his healing touch today?

original story from: USA Today

Alassane Outtara finds himself in an interesting and difficult position.  He was recently elected as president of the Ivory Coast in an election verified by members of the United Nations. However, former president Laurent Gbagbo is refusing to leave.  Gbagbo has remained in the presidential palace and, despite essentially universal condemnation, continues to claim that he is the rightful president.  All of this means that Outtara and his government are now residing in a small hotel and using the fax machine in the manager’s office to communicate with the outside world.  Those involved are still hoping that the matter can be resolved without bloodshed, but a peaceful resolution is anything but certain.

If you’re a Christian you’ve already declared that you want God to be the ruler of your life. However, it’s difficult to step down and allow him to take that role in our lives. We like to say that he’s our king while secretly keeping power for ourselves. But God’s not satisfied with being only a nominal king in our lives. He wants full control because he knows that’s the only way we can ever become the people he intends us to be.  Who’s really making the decisions in your life today—you or God?

original story from: CNN

This top 10 list contains many places you’d expect such as New York, London, and Boston which are well known for their Christmas traditions and festivities.  However, there might also be a few that you wouldn’t think of.  For example, Sydney, Australia makes the list even though the average temperature is in the 70’s (not all that different from Texas apparently).  Its main advantage is the ability to celebrate Christmas on the beach.  Or if you’re feeling especially festive you can always head to Reykjavik, Iceland, where 13 Santas bearing bags of gifts will be there to greet you on the days leading up to December 25^th.

Another unlikely place to celebrate Christmas would have been a cramped manger in Bethlehem, but that’s exactly where God chose to enter into our world through Jesus Christ.  The only baby to ever choose his parents and the location of his birth chose to be born in humble surroundings with only shepherds as witnesses.  If he would choose a feed trough in Bethlehem, he’ll choose to be born anywhere—even in our hearts and lives.

original story from: USA Today

An eighth-century Syriac text called “The Revelation of the Magi” is making news.  The obscure manuscript has been housed at the Vatican Library since it was discovered in Turkey in the 18^th century.  Brent Landau, working on his doctoral dissertation at Harvard Divinity School, translated the manuscript.  It describes at least 12 Magi; one part of the text suggests that a group the size of a small army made the trek to Bethlehem. It claims that they came from “Shir,” a reference to China.

We have no way to verify the claims of the text, but it is noteworthy to me that the ancient manuscript tells the story of Christmas as fact, not fable.  In a day when atheists have purchased billboards claiming that the Magi are a “myth,” such ancient verification is interesting news.  The Incarnation of Jesus is truth, not fable.  History is indeed “his story.”